CONTENT

MARKETING 2014
New Media Platforms Drive Demand for High-Quality Content

CONTENT MARKETING 2014

CONTENT
MARKETING 2014

New Media Platforms Drive Demand

for High-Quality Content

With more and more media platforms available to them,

consumers have developed an insatiable demand for content.
Theyre plugged in 24/7, sharing videos on YouTube, posting
links to articles on Twitter, reading news on iPad or iPhone
apps and watching their favorite shows on Hulu.
This presents a huge challenge for marketers that have to figure out
how to keep the content machine full of high-quality material that keeps
users engaged and coming back for more. Its time-consuming, costly
and continual; and marketers are struggling to keep up with the demand.
Some are hiring people internally to produce content, while others are
turning to third parties or partnering with media companies to come up
with content.
But one thing is clear: Content marketing has become a top priority for
marketers.
According to the Content Marketing Institute, 93.0% of b-to-b marketers
now use content marketing as part of their overall strategy, and 90.0%
of b-to-c marketers use content marketing.
To find out more about the top challenges in content marketing, how
marketers are allocating spending to content marketing and which
platforms theyre using, Advertising Age conducted a survey of 191
marketing and ad agency executives between Feb. 11 and 25. The
following core findings emerged from the study:
Fifty-seven percent of marketers plan to increase budgets
for content marketing this year.
The biggest challenges for marketers when it comes to
content marketing are the need to create engaging content,
lack of budget and lack of time.

Majority of marketers will boost content

marketing budgets
This year, 57.0% of the marketers surveyed plan to increase their
content marketing budgets, while 40.0% plan to keep them flat; only
3.0% plan to decrease their budgets for content marketing, according to
the Ad Age survey.
In the past, most marketers distributed their spending for content
marketing across different areas of their overall budgets, from public
relations to collateral to website development. Now marketers,
realizing the importance of the discipline, are beginning to create
separate budget lines for content marketing.
Given the attention and focus on building a content strategy that
is based on attracting and retaining buyers, we decided to have a
dedicated budget for content marketing, says Cindy Kim, director
of marketing at JDA Software Group, a software and consulting
company for the retail and supply chain management industries.
Goals for Content Marketing
Improve your brands perception/visibility
Acquire customers/generate leads

Print, live events and other traditional media are still important to content marketing.

2014 Crain Communications Inc.

82.7%
74.7%

Increase relevance/influence

65.4%

Engender loyalty/ongoing customer engagement (CRM)

58.0%

Build community

56.2%

Move people along the sales funnel

45.7%

Create customer service content

25.3%

Attract new employees

Educate trade partners

The top seven channels for distributing content are all

owned or earned.

12.3%
11.7%

Eschew traditional ad-media channels

6.8%

Other (does not apply, fulfill our mission, etc.)

1.9%

n=165 respondents*

CONTENT MARKETING 2014

Previously, JDA had an internal team of writers who produced

content for online videos, brochures, blogs and other channels, with each
department funding its own materials (for example, PR or website
development). This year, the company created a separate content
marketing budget, which it declined to disclose, to cover all
content creation.
Digital is a huge component were focusing on this year, Ms. Kim says,
pointing to one major investment area for content marketing.
JDA uses a lot of video in its content marketing, including interviews
with customers at its annual user conference and thought-leadership
pieces created for its website, as well as sharing content through social
media and e-newsletters.
Content Marketings Biggest Challenges

50.9%

Create engaging content

Lack of budget

40.9%
67.6%

Lack of time

40.9%
67.6%

Lack of integration across marketing

Lack of internal/external buy-in
Other (misunderstanding of principals, proving

ROI, client understanding-CRM, breaking through

the clutter, realistic CPMs for direct marketers, etc.)

29.6%
19.5%
4.4%

n=165 respondents*

The top challenge when it comes to content marketing is creating

engaging content, cited by 50.9% of marketers and agency executives.
Other big challenges are lack of budget and lack of time to devote to
content marketing, each cited by 40.9% of respondents.
Database software company SAP is a prime example of a marketer that
wanted to expand its content marketing strategy but didnt have a lot of
money to invest initially.
We didnt have a big budget to launch the site, said Michael Brenner, the
former VP-marketing and content strategy at SAP, referring to the SAPs
Business Innovation blog site, introduced early in 2012. Business Innovation features blogs-written by SAP employees, subject-matter experts and
outside contributors-on topics such as cloud computing, mobile and Big
Data. Mr. Brenner is now head of strategy at Newscred.
We had a small amount of money to set up the infrastructure and
almost zero money for content curation, Mr. Brenner says. We found
2014 Crain Communications Inc.

authors who were thought leaders and asked them to contribute, even
though we didnt have the budget to pay them.
Today, Business Innovation publishes more than 20 blogs a day and
has an average engagement time of more than five minutes spent on
the site. A key to the sites success is that SAP does not feature any
promotional content there.
We developed the Business Innovation blog to earn our audiences
attention rather than buy it, Mr. Brenner says. You have to deliver
content that is relevant and valuable.
Some of the most popular blog posts have been those offering tips,
strategies and resources for its target audience of IT professionals and
business executivesfor example, Top 50 #BigData Twitter Influencers,
Top 10 News/Blog Sites for Cloud Computing and Analytics Terms
You Need to Know.
American Express Co. is another company that has been successful at
creating engaging content focusing on its customers rather than itself.
At OPENForum.com, a website for American Express OPENs smallbusiness customers, content includes case studies of how customers
are making their businesses successful and advice from such experts as
financial planners.
Content is produced by customers, subject-matter experts and
freelance writers. AmEx also incorporates Twitter, Facebook,
YouTube, Tumblr and LinkedIn into its online community.

The top channels for content distribution are

owned or earned
One of the most significant findings from the survey is that the top
seven channels used for distributing content are all owned or earned:
Facebook (81.5%); a companys own website (77.8%); Twitter (68.5%);
YouTube (59.9%); e-newsletters (51.9%); LinkedIn (50.0%); and
video (43.2%).
Coca-Cola Co. has embraced all these channels and turned its marketing
strategy on its head. In 2011, Coca-Cola announced Content 2020, a
content marketing initiative designed to move from creative excellence
to content excellence, said Jonathan Mildenhall, then-senior VPintegrated marketing content and design excellence at Coca-Cola Co.,
in a video announcing the initiative. Mr. Mildenhall recently left
Coca-Cola to become CMO at Airbnb.
3

CONTENT MARKETING 2014

All advertisers need a lot more content so that they can keep the
engagement with consumers fresh and relevant because of 24/7
connectivity, Mr. Mildenhall said in a speech in October 2011,
when Coca-Cola announced the initiative.
With a goal of doubling its revenue by 2020, Coca-Cola embarked on a
content marketing strategy that is heavily focused on storytelling rather
than marketing. The marketer relaunched its website in 2012, replacing
its traditional corporate website with a digital magazine called CocaCola Journey. The site features more than 9,000 videos, on topics such
as how Coke is empowering women and how its providing water to
impoverished areas in Africa.

Print, TV and other traditional media

are still important channels
Does this shift to earned and owned media channels mean advertising
and other paid-content channels are doomed? Not at all.
In addition to pushing out more content through social media and owned
channels, 42.0% of marketers still plan to partner with established
media for their content needs, 40.7% regularly use paid print media
and 40.1% regularly use paid TV for content distribution, the Ad Age
survey found.
We are seeing an evolving role of media to brand-pluspublisher, says SAPs Mr. Brenner. We will see much less brand
advertising and much more sponsored content.
Types of Content Marketing in Use

98.1%
88.3%

Existing social networks

Traditional print (custom magazines

72.8%

advertorials, etc.)

71.6%

Blogs or digital articles

Video

66.0%

Live events

For example, SAP has a sponsored content channel on Forbes.com,

called SAPVoice, where it runs blogs by SAP employeesincluding
regular posts by CMO Jonathan Becheron topics like data management or employee engagement.
The Forbes partnership is offered through BrandVoice, a sponsoredcontent program Forbes introduced in 2010 to offer marketers a way
to connect their brands with Forbes influential audience of business
executives and investors. Revenue from BrandVoice accounted for 20%
of Forbes total ad revenue last year and is expected to make up 30% of
total ad revenue this year.
Forbes is not the only publisher offering custom content. Cond
Nast has partnered with marketers such as Gap Inc. and Procter
& Gamble Co. through its Partnership Publishing program; The
New York Times has produced custom content for advertisers
including Dell Inc. and United Airlines through its Content
Studio; and Time Inc. has served clients such as Allstate Corp.,
Bank of America and Ford Motor Co. through its Time Inc. Content
Solutions group.

Content marketing: Looking ahead

As channels for content viewing continue to open up, marketers will
need to become even more innovative in developing engaging material
to reach their target audiences.
Content marketing is a promising area for marketers, publishers and
agencies, and smart marketers will invest in the resources to
produce, curate and distribute content.

61.1%
About the Survey

48.1%

Targeted microsites
Branded entertainment

37.7%

White papers/research/
thought leadership
Webinars/virtual events

35.8%

Advertising Age conducted this online research study in February 2014. The 191
respondents were made up of 44% agencies, 40% marketers and 16% media.
Respondents held a variety of job titles, including 35% head of business/C-level,
22% VP level, 38% director/manager level and 5% others.

29.6%
29.6%

Custom social communities

Others
Others
(Cable
(direct
appmail,
on iPad,
email,
Chromecast,
websites,

75.3%

EZTV.it, Android-powered
etc.)
TV,tablets,
mobile app)

None of the above

SAP continues to buy paid advertising for its ongoing brand campaign
Run Better across TV, print, online and out-of-home, but it is also
partnering with publications such as Forbes and The New York Times on
sponsored content.

0.6%

The margin of error, based on 191 respondents, is calculated to be no greater than

+/- 6.6 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
*Chart based on respondents who are currently involved with buying or selling
content marketing.

n=165 respondents*

2014 Crain Communications Inc.